"Process is an embedded reaction to prior stupidity"
-- Clay Shirky
The root problem is that while process is usually something that's quickly thrown onto the pile, there's rarely any companies that continuously revisit process in order to remove as much of it as possible as soon as it doesn't make sense anymore. We do that religiously and it makes a huge difference.
Recently we even got rid of our Daily Standup because we saw it wasn't bringing any value with the way we already communicated.
Process needs to be continuously lived, renewed and owned by the team, otherwise it tends to rot and negatively impact speed, morale and innovation.
Please don't construe my comment as a condemnation of process. I'm talking only about "approvals". On all but the smallest (1-2 person) teams, process is vital and necessary in order to ship on time, under budget, with sufficient quality, whatever your business measurements are. This is particularly true for software. Without a clear product development process, we're all pretty much relying on chance in order to successfully ship a product.
I think there is a lot of value when you change process so you discover what was useful and what was not. So, say 6 months from now try the daily stand up for 2 months then stop etc. Especially if your adding or removing team members.
IMO, the problem is any specific process is going to evolve to the point where people just go through the motions. But, without stability people are more likely to keep thinking from new angles.
-- Clay Shirky
The root problem is that while process is usually something that's quickly thrown onto the pile, there's rarely any companies that continuously revisit process in order to remove as much of it as possible as soon as it doesn't make sense anymore. We do that religiously and it makes a huge difference.
Recently we even got rid of our Daily Standup because we saw it wasn't bringing any value with the way we already communicated.
Process needs to be continuously lived, renewed and owned by the team, otherwise it tends to rot and negatively impact speed, morale and innovation.